once

Why did it take me three years to see this movie? What kind of musical-lover am I to let this one go unseen for so long?? And why didn't anyone warn me that it would make me sob? (If you haven't seen it yet, it's not "sad," per se... just touching.)


Once. See it.

Monday music, vol. 7: You Make My Dreams

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a pick-me-up song with the hopes of helping you begin your week on a positive note. Happy Monday!

As if this Hall & Oates song weren't already peppy enough, 500 Days of Summer made me love it even more. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll see what I mean in the clip below... and see the movie already, mm'kay?). By the way, Hall & Oates are Philadelphians. Holler.


Buy this song here.

do you believe in miracles?

I am very excited for the Olympics this year. Although I've never been much of an athlete myself, I have always been drawn to sports stories of overcoming the odds, sacrifice, and triumph; that's what the Olympics represent to me. While many great Olympians go on to collect millions of dollars in endorsement deals, there are no monetary guarantees (like in the world of professional NFL and NBA athletes) when they arrive in the Olympic village; those athletes are all there first and foremost for the love of their sport and their devotion to being the best.

My favorite Olympic moment is one that occurred a few months before I was even born, but it is beautifully reenacted in the movie Miracle. The story of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team is so uplifting to watch, and it was undoubtedly uplifting to live through during a time of political uncertainty and tension. I know, I know — it's just another Disney feel-good story — but if you can say you didn't shed a tear during this film, I'd reckon to say that you're lying. I won't spoil the story for anyone who hasn't seen it, but if you haven't, do yourself a favor and rent it, pronto. Nick and I watch it at least once or twice a year, and neither of us can ever make it through with dry eyes.

What is your favorite Olympic moment? What sport are you most looking forward to watching during the Vancouver Olympics? (PS, don't forget to watch the opening ceremonies to look for my friend Kasia! She'll be the cute prego sporting her Vancouver pride!)

Julie & Julia... the movie

I told you several months ago about the book Julie & Julia that I was smitten over. I was delightfully surprised to find out after picking the book up that a movie based on the story was due out this summer. And not just any movie with any stars — a Nora Ephron movie, starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. Really, what could possibly make this movie NOT spectacular?!

Nick and I checked it out on Saturday, and we were not disappointed — it was SO good! There were even a few lines that I missed because the laughter in the packed theatre was so loud.

I don't know that I would have loved it quite as much if I hadn't already known a bit about Julia Child — Meryl Streep was absolutely awesome and hysterical as Julia — but hopefully it will teach some youngins about her legacy :-)

Amy Adams really can't be bad in a movie, if you asked me, so it came as no surprise that she was wonderful, too.

A few details were modified for the film, but I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of the experiences that Julie Powell relayed in her book were pretty accurately portrayed. Overall, it was just delightful and I highly recommend you check it out :-)

The real Julie Powell

500 days of summer

I know I'm certainly not the first to rave about this film, but I saw it three days ago and I'm still smiling just thinking about it... if you haven't heard anything about it, here's a little sneak preview:



You already know that I love pretty much everything about Zooey, and this movie has made me love her even more. She is so great in the role of Summer, and her personal style (which I highly admire) is definitely reflected in Summer's style.

I am slightly obsessed with this peacock-print dress she's wearing in the dinner party scene.

The story is cute and funny and totally believable. I found myself laughing or smiling quite often in the theatre. People clapped when it was over (for the record, I hate when people clap in a movie theatre [it's not like the stars of the movie can hear your applause?] but I thought you should know that it was, indeed, applause-worthy to some people).

If you aren't convinced yet that you need to see this movie, let me tell you that Zooey also sings in it.

And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is absolutely perfect and adorable in the role of Tom.

And you'll never listen to "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Hall & Oates the same way ever again.

on the town

The other night, Nick and I came across "On the Town" on TCM. I have actually never seen this film (I have no idea how this one slipped past me), but aside from the charming Gene Kelly in a sailor suit (they just don't make movie stars like that anymore... sigh), the thing that stood out to me the most was the fabulous green dress that Ann Miller is wearing during "Prehistoric Man." The style... the fit... the adorable black-and-white plaid collar with matching lining that you can see when she dances! I wish I had an excuse to wear such a spectacular getup.

If you want to watch the whole number, be my guest!

see it.

That is all.

Number 17

Going along with my 101 in 1001 list in my last post, I wanted to post AFI's top 100 movies (the 2007 list) so you can follow along with my progress (or if you just want to count how many of these flix you've seen!). Any movie that I have already seen is shown in bold/italics. Any movie I see moving forward will be marked the same way, but with the addition of date that I saw it.

1. Citizen Kane
2. The Godfather
3. Casablanca
4. Raging Bull
5. Singin’ in the Rain
6. Gone with the Wind
7. Lawrence of Arabia
8. Schindler’s List
9. Vertigo
10. The Wizard of Oz
11. City Lights
12. The Searchers
13. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
14. Psycho
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Boulevard
17. The Graduate
18. The General
19. On the Waterfront
20. It’s a Wonderful Life
21. Chinatown
22. Some Like it Hot
23. The Grapes of Wrath
24. ET The Extra-Terrestrial
25. To Kill a Mockingbird
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
27. High Noon
28. All About Eve
29. Double Indemnity
30. Apocalypse Now
31. The Maltese Falcon
32. The Godfather Part II
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
35. Annie Hall
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
37. The Best Years of Our Lifes
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
39. Dr. Strangelove
40. The Sound of Music
41. King Kong
42. Bonnie and Clyde
43. Midnight Cowboy
44. The Philadelphia Story
45. Shane
46. It Happened One Night
47. A Streetcar Named Desire
48. Rear Window
49. Intolerance
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
51. West Side Story
52. Taxi Driver
53. The Deer Hunger
54. MASH
55. North by Northwest
56. Jaws
57. Rocky
58. The Gold Rush
59. Nashville
60. Duck Soup
61. Sullivan’s Travels
62. American Graffiti
63. Cabaret
64. Network
65. The African Queen
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark
67. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
68. Unforgiven
69. Tootsie
70. A Clockwork Orange
71. Saving Private Ryan
72. The Shawshank Redemption
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
74. The Silence of the Lambs
75. In the Heat of the Night
76. Forrest Gump
77. All the President’s Men
78. Modern Times
79. The Wild Bunch
80. The Apartment
81. Spartacus
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
83. Titanic
84. Easy Rider
85. A Night at the Opera
86. Platoon
87. 12 Angry Men
88. Bringing Up Baby
89. The Sixth Sense
90. Swing Time
91. Sophie’s Choice
92. Goodfellas
93. The French Connection
94. Pulp Fiction
95. The Last Picture Show
96. Do the Right Thing
97. Blade Runner
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy
99. Toy Story
100. Ben Hur

On the Turntable: Sondre Lerche/Dan in Real Life Soundtrack

Have you seen Dan in Real Life? It is absolutely charming. I love Steve Carell, and I think he plays the vulnerable character of Dan so well (and it's such a 180 from his unbearable-but-awesomely-politically-incorrect character on The Office). Throughout most of the movie I just want to jump through the screen and give him a big hug.


We recently watched this movie for the third time, and amidst the sweet and funny story, I was reminded of how wonderful the music is.... so I used an Amazon gift card I had lying around and promptly bought the soundtrack. All but one of the songs are performed by Norwegian musician Sondre Lerche, and I love his pure, unique voice and the simple guitar melodies. I have been listening on repeat since I got the CD. (I tend to do that with music I really like!) It's fabulous.

One of my favorite songs is My Hands are Shaking. Have a listen. (Oh yeah, and he ain't so bad looking, either.)



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